EIYTMA Chapter 13

Étienne had begun to fall seriously ill. Ezekiel was restless, but Madame Babin merely scoffed. She had plenty of experience raising a frail boy.  

 

“A summer cold can be cured by eating meat broth with plenty of pepper and getting a good night’s sleep.”  

 

Saying so, she brought out a steaming stew. Étienne managed to finish it before falling asleep. Since he was unwell, Henri was able to join them for dinner.  

 

Ezekiel sighed, thinking he would have to find a chair somehow by tomorrow.  

 

“Isn’t pepper expensive?”, At his words, Iris smiled.  

 

“My brother Henri falls ill often, so we do keep some in stock. We can’t afford a lot, but we have a little.”  

 

“I see. I’ll make sure to repay you once I reunite with my group.”  

 

“It’s all right. Father said he’d buy more anyway!”  

 

Henri, who was eating his stew, spoke up confidently. At Henri’s words, Madame Babin seemed to recall something she had forgotten.  

 

“Speaking of which, it’s worrying that the baron still hasn’t returned…”  

 

Baron Querluxia would leave for a nearby estate every early summer to purchase last season’s barley. Iris added,  

 

“We need it to brew beer for winter. This is the cheapest time to buy it.”  

 

“Beer?”  

 

“In winter, the well freezes.”  

 

Madame Babin interjected.  

 

In the dead of winter, when even the river froze, drinking water became scarce. Breaking through the ice was an option, but keeping warm and maintaining energy through the season was just as crucial. Beer was a necessity, she explained. This place truly had to be entirely self-sufficient.  

 

At that moment, Henri asked,  

 

“I have a question. How does someone become a knight?”  

 

“A knight…?”  

 

Iris smiled.  

 

“Henri, we said you could become one if you got healthier.”  

 

“But even if I get healthier, it’s not like anyone would just let me become a knight!”  

 

Henri kicked his legs and grumbled in frustration. Madame Babin shrugged at Ezekiel.  

 

“Our baron used to be a knight in the imperial capital when he was young.”  

 

“Ezekiel, you’re a knight of the Duke of Arbois, right? Isn’t it really hard to become a duke’s knight?”  

 

It seemed the frail boy’s dream was to become a knight. Ezekiel smiled awkwardly.  

 

“If you train diligently, you can become one.”  

 

“How?”  

 

“…By training well?”  

 

It seemed Étienne was right—he really wasn’t good with words.  

 

“Ehh, that’s not an answer,” Henri muttered in disappointment.  

 

Iris chuckled and pushed his plate toward him.  

 

“Getting healthy is the first step, Henri. And for that, you need to eat lots of vegetables.”  

 

“I hate vegetables! They taste bitter!”  

 

“But knights eat them very well. Look at Ezekiel’s plate.”  

 

Both Henri and Iris turned their eyes toward him. Without thinking, Ezekiel quickly grabbed a handful of the cooked greens in front of him and stuffed them into his mouth.  

 

Madame Babin and Iris’ eyes curved into amused smiles, while Henri stared at him with round, astonished eyes.  

 

After a brief pause, Ezekiel took another bite.  

 

“Did you know that knights of the Duke of Arbois can’t become knights unless they eat plenty of vegetables?”  

 

“…You’re lying!”  

 

The boy glared at him with suspicion, but Ezekiel shook his head.  

 

“I’m serious. Haven’t you heard that the Duke of Arbois buys vegetables from his estate’s farmers at high prices? He does it both to support them and to ensure his knights grow strong.”  

 

“…Is that true, Madame Babin?”  

 

“Of course!”  

 

As if she had been waiting for this moment, Madame Babin immediately chimed in.  

 

“Think about it. Where do you think the baron went to sell the vegetables we grew in spring? To the Duke of Arbois’ territory!”  

 

“…….”  

 

In the end, Henri, still looking doubtful, stuffed the greens into his mouth, chewing through his plate despite his tear-filled eyes.  

 

Madame Babin and Iris clapped their hands in delight.  

 

After dinner, Ezekiel managed to handle the dishwashing quite skillfully this time.  

 

Not only that, but he also found a broken chair behind the stables and brought it into the barn to fix.  

 

Of course, all he did was hammer in some new wooden pegs to reinforce the broken legs, but Iris, who had been holding a lantern to light his work, was delighted.  

 

“Now we can all have breakfast together tomorrow.”  

 

“That is, if Étienne feels better.”  

 

“Oh, right. Will he be okay?”  

 

Ezekiel shook his head. Étienne had slept through the entire evening, barely waking up to eat some stew before falling asleep again.  

 

It had been three days since the rain started. His mind was heavy with concerns.  

 

Both princes had disappeared, which meant the Duke of Arbois’ knights must be searching for them day and night without rest. If their disappearance prolonged any further, the situation would escalate.  

 

He considered asking Iris to help him find a map of Querluxia’s domain and tracing their way back. However, he couldn’t bring himself to leave Étienne behind.  

 

Iris patted Ezekiel’s shoulder.  

 

“He’ll be fine. Summer colds usually last exactly a week before they subside.”  

 

“Is that so?”  

 

“Of course, recovering sooner would be best.”  

 

Ezekiel asked something that had been bothering him for a while.  

 

“Is your father… significantly late?”  

 

“Ah.”  

 

Iris flinched slightly before offering a troubled smile.  

 

“He usually returns before the summer rains start. It’s rare for him to be this late… but I’m sure he’s fine.”  

 

“……”  

 

“He’s probably staying somewhere because of the heavy rain.”  

 

The straw inside the barn smelled damp. Still, the girl sat down on it without hesitation. The candle inside the lantern flickered, sending up wisps of soot.  

 

“He did mention he might be late this time. He went to get Henri’s medicine.”  

 

Henri wasn’t just weak or frail—his condition was something more. Iris cautiously revealed his illness.  

 

“Henri has mana sickness.”  

 

“Ah.”  

 

It finally made sense why he would have unexplained fevers. Mana sickness was a condition where the body couldn’t properly control its internal mana, causing periodic fevers.  

 

Some children were born with innate mana. The lucky ones became mages, while the unfortunate ones suffered from mana sickness and often died young.  

 

Ezekiel carefully spoke.  

 

“Becoming a mage… is difficult, I assume.”  

 

“It tends to be.”  

 

Iris forced a smile.  

 

Magic was incredibly expensive. Mages never shared their knowledge freely, and those who wished to learn had to pay a hefty price.  

 

Moreover, only those born with mana were eligible to learn it. Even then, not everyone with mana was accepted, as its potency varied from person to person.  

 

If someone spent a fortune to learn magic but had too little mana, no matter how powerful the spells they were taught, they would be useless.  

 

“At the very least, if he could learn to control his mana…”  

 

“We looked into that too, but it’s too expensive. There aren’t even any suitable mages nearby.”  

 

Hiring a mage was also outrageously costly. It was said that the curse mage employed by the Duke of Arbois, despite being only moderately skilled, earned as much in a year as Felicia, the Duke’s daughter, spent in the same time.  

 

So, it was no surprise that there weren’t any affordable mages in the vicinity.  

 

“We were ready to give up since money couldn’t solve the issue… but then we heard about a good medicine for mana sickness, so he traveled far to find it.”  

 

“I see.”  

 

Ezekiel discreetly glanced at Iris’s profile beside him. Her blue eyes, framed by loosely braided silver hair, were filled with concern.  

 

Unconsciously, he wondered how much the mage under his father’s employ was being paid. Could this be something he could afford? He tried to gauge the feasibility.  

 

How much time had passed? His thoughts must have run longer than he realized.  

 

Something suddenly bumped against his shoulder, startling him— It was Iris’s head. She had fallen asleep.  

 

Ezekiel flinched involuntarily, then panicked. If he moved, she might wake up. However, fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—she did not.  

 

“…Iris.”  

 

Ezekiel softly called her name. There was no response. He debated whether to call her again but decided against it.  

 

Shhh…  

 

Outside the barn, the rain continued to fall through the night. Strangely, the sound was comforting.  

 

Perhaps it was because of the warmth on his shoulder.  

 

***  

 

The Duke of Arbois’ knights arrived the next morning.